Our Coaches and Facilitators

Unlimited Potential has a group of dynamic coaches and facilitators from a variety of backgrounds ready to serve your needs.

Ellen Melis
President, Unlimited Potential and Head Coach

Ellen Melis is a Certified Executive Coach and Facilitator who delivers her services in English and French. She brings her energy and enthusiasm to her coaching and facilitation. Results-driven, she will ask her clients to step out of their comfort zone to get to where they want to be. She will be a trusted partner along the way, holding clients accountable to their own action planning and growth. Health and Leadership are life-long passions and her personal mission is to empower others to live the life they want to their optimal potential.

A member of the International Coach Federation and the International Association of Facilitators, Ellen has extensive experience with government, not-for-profit agencies and associations. For the past twenty years Ellen’s work has focused on strategic priority areas in health services and policy research and knowledge transfer. Prior to founding Unlimited Potential, Ellen was the Associate Scientific Director at the Institute of Health Services and Policy Research at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Ellen holds a B.Sc. in Physiotherapy and a M.Sc. in Rehabilitation Science from McGill University. She is a Certified Executive Coach through Royal Roads University and is also a Certified Association Executive through the Canadian Society of Association Executives. Ellen is also a certified Legacy Leadership© coach and facilitator, a certified LEADS in a Caring Environment Coach and Facilitator, a certified Strength Deployment Inventory™ facilitator as well as a Coaching out of the Box® Facilitator and Trainer.

Listen to Ellen's appearance on CBC's today's show in February of this year. 

Laurie Johnson

Laurie’s personal mission is inspiring people to be extraordinary through courageous conversations. She embodies this through her core values of achieving results, continuous learning, empowering, inspiring and connecting with others.

Laurie is a highly-motivated, results-oriented, senior business professional and HR executive with over 25 years experience in human resources, change management, business development, government relations, strategic planning, and policy analysis/development.  She has partnered with senior executive teams in global energy and agricultural companies to identify/deliver business-focused HR solutions to meet business strategies in dynamic company environments.

Laurie is energetic, enthusiastic and passionate about coaching where she partners with people by guiding them to reach their full potential in both their personal and professional lives.  She helps   individuals to find what brings them joy so that their work doesn’t feel like work.  In particular, Laurie works with leaders to understand their impact on others and inspires them to create sanctuaries where their teams are: engaged, able to demonstrate their potential and inspired to provide input on how the organization is run.

Laurie holds her MBA from the University of Regina, and a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics from the University of Saskatchewan.  She also holds a graduate certificate in Executive Coaching from Royal Roads University, and obtained her designation as a Certified Executive Coach.

Marilynn Kendall

Marilynn is delighted to have the opportunity to offer her coaching services to you! Coaching is her passion. She loves to motivate and inspire people to achieve fulfillment of their personal and professional goals and dreams through the use of coaching. As your Executive Coach she is committed to the coaching conversation and to assisting you in reaching your goals and vision. You will work together to explore your needs, your possibilities, and to create a life that supports your dreams.

Prior to becoming an Executive Coach Marilynn was a registered nurse by profession with 35 years of experience within the acute care hospital setting. Her professional focus over the past twenty-two years was been in another area of passion for her - leadership roles. She is experienced people-oriented leader with accomplished strategic planning, innovative thinking, leadership, communication, and relationship building skills who thrives in environments where there are opportunities to create and sustain change, and leadership possibilities for all.

As a lifelong learner Marilynn holds a Diploma in Nursing from the Royal Columbian Hospital School of Nursing, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from UBC, an MA in Leadership & Training, and is a Certified Executive Coach from Royal Roads University. She looks forward to utilizing her coaching skills to help you achieve the leadership future of your dreams!

Dominic Scaffidi

Dominic’s personal mission is to unleash the extraordinary in others and awaken them to their greatness. He brings to coaching more than 20 years of business experience with leading edge, global organizations. Beginning in sales and progressing through executive roles in Human Resources, Dominic gained exposure to a variety of industries. He has coached senior managers and leaders as they take on challenges including new roles, goals, projects and significant change or transition.

As a coach, Dominic works with clients through intentional conversations that generate new thinking and insight to take them beyond their current limits. He builds a relationship of trust and support while challenging them to bring greater clarity, awareness and responsibility for what is most important. With a focus on natural talents and resourcefulness, Dominic helps clients develop their own strategies and actions that leverage new insights to impact performance and results.

Dominic holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto. He is a Certified Human Resources Practitioner (CHRP) through the HR Professionals Association, a Certified Executive Coach (CEC) through Royal Roads University and an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) through the International Coach Federation.

Valerie Waymark

Valerie’s mission is to inspire passion and courage by supporting others on their own journey of discovery.   She brings a calm and relaxed way of being to coaching conversations that allows her clients to explore their deepest desires and most frustrating challenges.

As a registered nurse for 25 years, Valerie specialized in gerontological and palliative nursing and has spent the past 20 years in progressively more responsible leadership roles.  She has a well-developed participative leadership style that focuses on team building, accessible communication and timely results.  Her passion for coaching emerged through the evolution of her own leadership skills and a strong desire to assist other leaders achieve sustainable growth, development and success in their lives.  Valerie’s coaching style provides a professional and supportive environment that helps client uncover and explore their own strengths and passion.

Valerie holds a Diploma in Nursing from Seneca College and Nursing Management Certificates through Vancouver Community College and York University.  She is a Certified Executive Coach through Royal Roads University and is a member of the International Coach Federation.

Martin Durocher

Martin’s personal mission is to live each day with integrity, generosity, and honesty as his guide posts so that he can be a positive role model, have quality relationships with those who are important to him, and support others in achieving extraordinary results. Martin feels strongly about assisting others in achieving incredible outcomes.  As a result of this he views coaching as a collaborative process between client and coach that focuses on launching the client to new levels of performance, never before imagined.  The process is facilitated through genuine conversations and is anchored on trust.

Martin has always been considered a great listener and someone who is naturally curious.  He will commit fully to your growth and will ask a lot of questions and challenge you to think differently along the way.

Martin has held various positions, including leadership roles, in large corporations, including roles in training and development, recruitment and selection, employee relations, and organizational development. He is very passionate about learning and considers himself to be a life-long learner.  Martin graduated from the University of Ottawa with a Bachelors of Business Administration and has since completed a certificate in Human Resources as well as a certificate in Adult Education.  He also completed formal training in Change Management, Mediation and Negotiation, Training Design and Development, Facilitation, as well as various areas of Leadership.

Lisa Stewart

Lisa’s personal mission is to inspire you to be your best.

Lisa’s has a passion for ‘people’. Her genuine, authentic qualities of patience, caring, honesty, curiosity, understanding, and respect inspires and empowers leaders to see solutions in new ways and seek and achieve extraordinary growth. Lisa will be fully invested in your professional and personal development; supporting, encouraging, acknowledging and challenging you to create the results you want.

Lisa is a Human Resources professional in the financial services industry specializing in leadership, communication, performance management, recruitment, people development and engagement. She holds a Diploma in Business Administration from the University of the Fraser Valley and has continued her professional and personal development through numerous human relations, coaching, leadership and management training programs. Lisa is a Certified Executive Coach through Royal Roads University and is a member of the International Coach Federation.